In Pursuit with John Walsh Season 4 Premiere Recap: Lying in Wait
Case 1: William Strand
Lesa White was a hardworking mom who worked as a corrections officer. She loved life and her family.
On January 4th, 2021, Treyvon Morris got a call from his brother, saying that their mother was missing. He recalls his mom as loving and hardworking. He also remembers his brother Tyreik telling him the news. They called their Aunt Delores for help finding Lesa, as well as Lesa’s job. That is when they were told she didn’t show up.
The Disappearance:
Lesa’s estranged husband Jeff was questioned about her whereabouts. He says she was going to get his medicine and then they would meet for breakfast later. He told them that somewhere between separating for her to go to Walmart and for him to go home, she went missing.
Lesa was confirmed to have been at Walmart during the times in question and was last seen leaving the store on her phone.
The Suspect:
Before long, Lesa’s ex, William Strand becomes a suspect. He was the last number found in her phone records before it was shut off.
Authorities went to William’s residence, but found nothing. A massive search begins, with social media being a huge part of it.
On January 6th, Lesa’s car was found. Her backpack and wallet were found, but nothing else seemed to be amiss.
As the search continued, authorities found out that William was by the apartment complex where the car was found.
It turned out that William was wanted for shooting a man the night Lesa went missing. That was enough to get a search warrant of his place. When they get inside, they find Lesa’s lifeless body.
Authorities needed to break the tragic news to her family. Everyone is shocked and upset and remember her as a loving, caring woman.
Treyvon remembers his mom dating William and how happy they were together. Delores says that William fooled a lot of people.
The Attempted Murder
William was also wanted for the attempted murder of his friend Terry Rolley. They had a bit of a falling out over COVID, but the night of January 4th, they reconnected. Terry thought they were going to make up, but William shot him instead.
A timeline of Lesa’s final whereabouts is put together by authorities, including meeting with Jeff, going to Walmart and to William’s house, where her phone lost service. They theorize that Lesa was probably ending their relationship and going back to Jeff.
It is also inferred that in between the time of the murders, William was busy disposing of evidence.
Possible Clues
By now, William has a 48 hour head start on investigators. A massive search begins for William. They are able to trace him to an area by the Chesapeake Bay, but he is gone by the time they get there. However, there is a plethora of evidence that shows he was in the area.
Williams is still at large and can be in the Seattle area. He is 5’7″, 220 pounds, a salt and pepper goatee and a receding hairline. He goes by Chim or Shack Daddy.
Missing Child 1:
Five year old Oakley Carlson was last seen on February 10th, 2021 in Oakville, Washington. She was not reported missing until December of that same year. Her parents Jordan Bowers and Andrew Carlson pleas guilty to child endangerment charges unrelated to the disappearance. They are also not cooperating with investigators.
Oakley is three feet tall and 30 pounds.
Missing Child 2:
Angelo Graham was been missing since September 13th, 2021. He is from Williamsburg, Virginia. He initially had contacts with some classmates, but has not been heard from since. Angelo is 14 years old and his father thinks he could be in danger without his meds. His father also thinks he could be in the Newport News area.
Angelo is 5’5″and 165 pounds.
15 Seconds of Shame 1:
Craig Michael Dahlbeck is wanted for allegedly assaulting his estranged wife and her roommate in July 2021.
15 Seconds of Shame 2:
Elder Paz-Perez is wanted for first degree rape charges after assaulting a 10 year old girl in Kenner, Louisiana in 2020. There are two other known victims.
Case 2–Leslie Ragrotta:
A serial rapist has been at large in Central Florida since the 1980s. DNA connected them to a man named Leslie Lagrotta.
Two rapes occurred in 1988 and another in 1989. It was after the third one that they were able to break the case open, when another woman was assaulted. This victim was able to give a partial description.
This led to discovering all the cases were connected. Palm prints were found at the scene of one scene, but it was a dead end. DNA did not match anything in the system.
One victim shares her experience. Out of respect, I won’t share the specifics.
Connecting the Cases:
Despite the cases being connected, the investigations hit a dead end….until another series of rapes occurred in the early 1990s in similar fashions. By 1999, all seven attacks were connected, but there was still no match in the system.
In 2019, new technology blows the case wide open. Ironically, it was the palm print that was deemed useless (and never entered in the system) that helped ID the rapist. Larry was arrested in 2010. He had agreed to a plea agreement, but then skipped town when he learned he would have to submit his DNA. He has not been seen since.
Despite this information, it is not enough to connect him to the case. Authorities got in contact with his family and got DNA from his brother. This connected Leslie to the case.
Possible Clues
A $25,000 reward is put up in exchange for Larry’s capture. It is inferred that Larry is out of the country and possibly in Mexico or Brazil.
Leslie has been on the run since 2010 and is considered armed and dangerous. He is 5’9″ and 185 lbs with blue eyes and brown hair. He also worked as a handyman.
